Spotlight Interview with Author C.Y. Bourgeois

Q1: Thanks for participating in our Authors.com Spotlight Interview series C.Y.! Please introduce yourself and your book to help our readers get to know you.

A: Hi, thanks for the opportunity to share a little of myself with other members of Authors.com. I'm C.Y. Bourgeois and I've written a novel entitled "Visions of You", a thriller set in Palmer, Alaska in 1975. VOY is my freshman debut into the world of writing. I grew up near Palmer and continued to live in the area until a little over two years ago when my husband and I moved to northern Idaho.

Q2: Please explain how you came to be a writer, what inspired you to write your book(s) and how long it took.

A: I've always been an avid reader and have been told that I'm a good writer...on term papers and short stories, but I never dreamed I'd one day write a novel.

My dad was/is my inspiration and my family is my cheering section. Almost six years ago he died and I began to write as a way of helping to cope with my grief. The more I wrote the more ideas I had and eventually “Visions of You” was born. It took three years of sporadic writing and about 5 months of continuous writing for me to finish VOY.

Q3: What did you enjoy most about creating this book?

A. Once I settled down and seriously began to write, I was amazed at the way the story just rolled out of me, like it had a mind of its own and I was just the conduit.

Q4: What facets of your life, both personal and professional, are woven into your book, if any?

A. There are many facets of my personal life woven into this book. The places in which the story takes place are all real. All of the characters are based on real people in my life and many of the events actually did happen. Of course, details, names, and dates have been changed to protect the innocent. ;~)

Q5. How did you get published?

A. I did some research and found out how hard it is for a new, unpublished author to get an agent, much less a publisher, so I decided to self-publish with AuthorHouse.

Q6: Did you have any surprises or hiccups along the way during the book writing and/or publishing process?

A. I was pleasantly surprised at how my original story morphed into something completely different. For instance, my original central character, Paul, traded places with a secondary character, Shelby, and she became the main character with the story evolving around her. My hiccups started during the marketing phase and haven’t stopped yet.

Q7: What one thing did you wish you'd known before you started this project?

A. I wish I’d known how hard it would be to market a book, but then again, if I had, maybe I wouldn’t have gone through with it. The writing was time consuming, but fun; editing pretty much sucks, but is doable; publishing is a lot of work; but marketing...marketing is something I know nothing about. I’m learning, but it’s a long, slow, hiccup-filled process.

Q8: You're a fly on the wall when readers are discussing your book. What would you hope to hear them say about it?

A. If I were a fly on the wall, I would hope to hear, “I really enjoyed reading this book. I can’t wait for the next one!”

Q9: Tell us one thing about you that most people don't know or would surprise them.

A. I’m not big on talking about myself. Nobody, not even my family, knew I was writing a novel until it was almost finished and I asked my sister to read the manuscript. I was terrified to let people read it.

Q10: What single piece of advice would you give new authors?

A. Write-write-write! Keep writing and the story will come pouring out.

Q11: Share a short summary of a typical day in your life with us please.

A. I get up, work out for an hour, eat breakfast, shower, and either go to work (I work part-time as a phlebotomist at a local hospital) or write. Then, later if I’m home, we play with the dogs, have supper, and watch T.V. for a few hours before going to bed. Pretty boring, but we like it!

Q12: Describe where you do most of your writing. What would I see if I was sitting beside you?

A. I do all of my writing at my desk. If you were sitting beside me, you would see a woman with long, brown hair and brown eyes, in a pink sweatshirt and Big Dog flannel pants (dressed for success) typing away at a laptop with a little strawberry blonde Chihuahua-mix dog curled on her lap. There’s a big tortoiseshell cat lazing atop the papers scattered next to the small aquarium on the corner of the desk by the window. She stops typing periodically to pet the dog or stroke the cat while contemplating how to put her thoughts into words.

Q13: What's your motto or favorite quote you like to live by?

A. When life gets hard, I remember what my mom always says: “This too, shall pass.” It reminds me to take life one day at a time and to enjoy the happiness that’s always around the corner.

A. I do have a website (still under construction), cybourgeois.com, where you can read the first chapter of “Visions of You”. I’m currently working on the second Shelby Leight thriller, “Visions of Mortality”, and a short story called “The Concrete Gnome” which is dedicated to my dad and will be published as an e-book in the near future.

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